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FC Petržalka
FC Petržalka crest.png
Full name FC Petržalka
Nickname(s) Engerau
Founded 7 June 1898; 127 years ago (1898-06-07)
as Pozsonyi Torna Egyesület
Ground Stadium FC Petržalka 1898,
Petržalka, Slovakia
Ground Capacity 1,600
President Marek Mojto
Head coach Michal Kuruc
League MONACObet Liga
2023–24 2nd of 16

FC Petržalka is a football club from Bratislava, Slovakia. It was started way back in 1898. The club has a long history in Slovak and Czechoslovak football. They even played in the top league in Czechoslovakia twice in the 1980s. Later, they spent 14 years in a row in the top Slovak league.

One of their biggest achievements was playing in the group stage of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League. They also reached the Round of 32 in the 2005–06 UEFA Cup. After some tough times, the club lost its old stadium. But a new one was built, and the team is now working its way back up. They play their home games at the new stadium which holds 1,600 fans. The team wears cool white and black striped shirts.

Club History

FC Petržalka has been around for a very long time. It started in 1898 as Pozsonyi Torna Egyesület. The club has changed its name 17 times over the years! One famous name was Artmedia Bratislava.

Artmedia played in the top Slovak league from 1993 until 2010. Their most successful period was in the mid-2000s. This was when Vladimír Weiss was their coach. In 2005, they won the Corgoň Liga title, which is the top Slovak league.

=Amazing European Adventures (2005–06)

After winning the league in 2005, FC Petržalka (then called Artmedia) got to play in the UEFA Champions League. This is a huge competition for the best clubs in Europe!

They had an incredible journey:

  • They beat Kairat Almaty 4–3 overall in the first round. They lost the first game 2–0 but won the second 4–1!
  • Then came a shocker! On July 27, 2005, they beat Celtic from Scotland 5–0 in the first game of the second round. Celtic is a very famous club. Even though Celtic won the next game 4–0, Artmedia still went through!
  • Next, they faced Partizan Belgrade. After two games, the score was 0–0. Artmedia won 4–3 in a penalty shootout to reach the Champions League group stage! This was a huge deal because their whole yearly budget was only about £1 million.

Artmedia became only the second Slovak club ever to reach the Champions League group stage. They also made history by being one of the first two clubs to go from the very first qualifying round all the way to the group stage. The other club was Liverpool, who had won the Champions League the year before!

Because their own stadium wasn't big enough for Champions League games, Artmedia played their home matches at Tehelné pole. This was the stadium of their city rivals, Slovan Bratislava.

On September 28, 2005, Artmedia made history again. They became the first Slovak team to earn a point in the Champions League group stage. They did this by coming back from 2–0 down to beat Porto 3–2 at Porto's home stadium! Porto had won the Champions League in 2004.

They finished third in their group. This meant they moved to the UEFA Cup. Sadly, they lost to Levski Sofia in the Round of 32 and were knocked out.

After this amazing season, their coach Vladimír Weiss left. Many key players also left the club.

Challenges and Comeback (2008–Present)

Coach Vladimír Weiss returned for the 2007–08 season. Some important players also came back. The team won the Slovak league title for the second time! They beat their rivals MŠK Žilina.

However, after this success, the club's owner and main sponsor left. This caused problems for the team. In the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League qualifiers, they beat Valletta and Tampere United. But they lost to the famous Italian club Juventus.

Many players left the club before the 2009–10 season. Younger players and players from other teams joined. The team struggled and was eventually moved down to a lower league.

In 2014, a new club was formed called FC Petržalka akadémia. This new club started in the 5th division. They quickly won their league in 2014–15. They won the 5th division again in 2015–16 and moved up to the 4th league.

In 2016–17, they continued their winning streak. They were unbeaten for 46 league matches in a row! They won the 4th league and moved up to the 3rd division. In 2017–18, they kept winning. They beat Rohožník 3–0 in a key match. They won 15 of their last 16 games and earned promotion back to the 2nd division! This was a great comeback for the club. On July 20, 2018, FC Petržalka played their first match back in the 2nd division and won!

Club Achievements

FC Petržalka has won many titles over the years.

In Slovakia and Czechoslovakia

  • 1.SNL (1st Slovak National football league) (1969–1993)
    • Gold medal icon.svg Winners (2): 1980–81, 1983–84
  • Slovak Superliga (1993–)
    • Gold medal icon.svg Winners (2): 2004–05, 2007–08
    • Silver medal icon.svg Runners-up (3): 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07
  • Slovenský Pohár (Slovak Cup) (1961–)
    • Gold medal icon.svg Winners (2): 2004, 2008
    • Silver medal icon.svg Runners-Up (3): 1982, 2005, 2009
  • Pribina Cup (Slovak Super Cup) (1993–)
    • Gold medal icon.svg Winners (2): 2005, 2008

In Europe

Top Goal Scorers in Slovak League

These players scored the most goals for Petržalka in the Slovak League:

Year Winner Goals
2004–05 Slovakia Filip Šebo 22
2006–07 Slovakia Tomáš Oravec 16

Stadiums

FC Petržalka has had a few homes over the years.

First Playing Fields

The first football match for Pozsonyi Torna Egyesület (PTE) was supposed to be on September 25, 1898. But it was moved to October 2, 1898. The rules of football were even explained to the people watching! The game was played between members of the club at a high school playground. In the early days, they just used open fields to play their home matches.

Artmedia Bratislava Stadium
Previous Petržalka stadium

Štadión za Starým mostom (Old Stadium)

In 1899, the club decided to build a proper football field. It was built near the Danube river and opened on September 25, 1900. PTE won their first game there against Magyar Football Club Budapest, 3–2. This stadium was used for many years. More than 100 years later, Artmedia still played their home games at this same spot. It was called Štadión za Starým mostom.

The old stadium could hold about 10,000 fans. It was very popular, with over 4,000 people usually coming to league matches. However, it didn't meet the rules for big European games. So, when Artmedia played in the Champions League in 2005–06, they had to use a different stadium. This stadium was closed in 2009 and taken down in 2012.

New Home Ground – Štadión FC Petržalka

A new stadium was built in 2011 on Sklodowskej street in Petržalka. It's called Stadium FC Petržalka 1898. It first became home to FC Petržalka 1898. After the club had some financial problems in 2014, it became the home for the new team, FC Petržalka akadémia, and then FC Petržalka.

The stadium officially opened on August 5, 2012. The first match was between FC Petržalka 1898 and FC Nitra B. The stadium started with one main stand that had 800 seats. It can be made bigger in the future. When the team was in lower leagues, the stadium could hold about 1,500 people.

Current Team

Updated July 21, 2024

No. Position Player
1 Slovakia GK Rene Zakech
2 Slovakia DF Tomáš Kachnič
6 Serbia DF Dominik Dinga
7 Slovakia MF Matej Riznič
8 Slovakia MF Roman Begala
9 Croatia FW Dino Špehar
10 Slovakia MF Peter Mazan
11 Slovakia MF Patrik Danek
16 Slovakia MF Kevin Doan Anh
17 Slovakia MF Péter Nagy
18 Slovakia DF Richard Hečko
20 Slovakia FW Marek Švec
No. Position Player
21 Slovakia MF Jakub Murko
23 Serbia FW Pavle Obradović
24 Slovakia MF Dávid Bordáč
25 Slovakia MF Filip Oršula
27 Czech Republic DF Daniel Holásek
33 Czech Republic GK Pavel Halouska
93 Slovakia MF Lukáš Gašparovič
95 Mali DF Arnaud Konan
97 Slovakia DF Patrik Šurnovský
99 Slovakia FW Daniel Pavúk
Slovakia GK Matus Karovic
Slovakia GK Marian Fendek

Players on Loan

Sometimes players go to other teams for a while to get more playing time. This is called being "on loan."

No. Position Player
20 Ukraine DF Nikita Kelembet (at Žilina B until June 30, 2025)
No. Position Player
Slovakia MF Viktor Sliacky (at Komárno until June 30, 2025)

Club Staff

Updated May 18, 2024

Staff Job title
Slovakia Michal Kuruc Manager
Slovakia Ivan Minčič Assistant manager
Slovakia Róbert Veselovský Goalkeeping coach
Slovakia Zdeno Biháry Physiotherapist
Slovakia Rudolf Sokol Doctor

Player Records

Most Goals Scored

These players have scored the most goals for FC Petržalka:

# Country Name Goals
1 Slovakia Milan Strelec 67
2 Czechoslovakia Marián Pochaba 59
3 Slovakia Tomáš Medveď 51
4 Slovakia Ján Kozák jr. 40
5 Slovakia Juraj Halenár 38

Players whose name is in bold are still playing for the team.

Famous Players

Many players from FC Petržalka have gone on to play for their national teams. Some have even moved to bigger leagues in other countries like Germany, Italy, and Russia.

Here are some notable players who have played for Petržalka:

  • Slovakia Ladislav Almási
  • Ivory Coast Mamadou Bagayoko
  • Slovakia Henrich Benčík
  • Slovakia Balázs Borbély
  • Slovakia Erik Čikoš
  • Slovakia Marián Čišovský
  • Slovakia Juraj Čobej
  • Latvia Vladimirs Draguns
  • Slovakia Ján Ďurica
  • Slovakia Pavol Farkaš
  • CzechoslovakiaSlovakia Peter Fieber
  • Slovakia Branislav Fodrek
  • Slovakia Karim Guédé
  • Slovakia Juraj Halenár
  • Slovakia Marián Had
  • Slovakia Miroslav Hýll
  • Curaçao Quintón Christina
  • Czechoslovakia Slovakia Miroslav Chvíla
  • Slovakia Jozef Juriga
  • Slovakia Ľuboš Kamenár
  • Czechoslovakia Slovakia Vladimír Kinder
  • Slovakia Tomáš Kóňa
  • Slovakia Rastislav Kostka
  • Slovakia Ján Kozák jr.
  • Slovakia Samuel Kozlovský
  • Slovakia Marek Krejčí
  • Slovakia František Kubík
  • Czechoslovakia Ľudovít Lancz
  • Slovakia Martin Lipčák
  • Slovakia Ľubomír Luhový
  • Slovakia Štefan Maixner
  • Czechoslovakia Marián Masný
  • Serbia Stefan Mitrović
  • Slovakia Branislav Niňaj
  • Kingdom of Hungary Gyula Nirnsee
  • Slovakia Martin Obšitník
  • Slovakia Branislav Obžera
  • Slovakia Tomáš Oravec
  • Slovakia Peter Petráš
  • Slovakia Juraj Piroska
  • Slovakia Attila Pinte
  • Slovakia Ľubomír Reiter
  • Slovakia Kornel Saláta
  • Slovakia Ivan Schranz
  • Slovakia Miloš Soboňa
  • Slovakia Dušan Sninský
  • Slovakia Jakub Sylvestr
  • Slovakia Otto Szabó
  • Slovakia Filip Šebo
  • Slovakia Anton Šoltis
  • Czech Republic Karel Vácha
  • Slovakia Blažej Vaščák
  • Czechoslovakia Slovakia Vladimír Weiss sr.
  • Slovakia Vladislav Zvara

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: FC Petržalka 1898 para niños

  • 2005–06 FC Artmedia Bratislava season
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